A central processing unit (CPU) in a computer system is a valuable resource performing various important tasks. Occasionally, execution of the CPU must be interrupted so that it can service a request from a device before its currently running application is completed. If these interrupt requests become too frequent, however, then performance of the computer system may be degraded. On the other hand, if interrupt requests are not appropriately serviced in a timely fashion, then the requesting devices may be left hanging, which may also result in degraded system performance or even failure in the case of some urgent interrupt requests.